A treatise on wood engravings : historical and practical . y, the last in the book, at this cut Bewick has represented the two blind fiddlers earnestlyscraping away, although there is no one to listen to their strains ;the bare-legged tatti/-he3ided boy who leads them, and the half-starvedmelancholy-looking dog at their heels, are in admirable keeping withthe principal characters. On the next page is a copy of the cut of the Two Boys and theAss, previously mentioned as occurring at page 375. This cut, beyondany other of the tail-pieces in the first edition of the Quadrupeds,perhaps affo
A treatise on wood engravings : historical and practical . y, the last in the book, at this cut Bewick has represented the two blind fiddlers earnestlyscraping away, although there is no one to listen to their strains ;the bare-legged tatti/-he3ided boy who leads them, and the half-starvedmelancholy-looking dog at their heels, are in admirable keeping withthe principal characters. On the next page is a copy of the cut of the Two Boys and theAss, previously mentioned as occurring at page 375. This cut, beyondany other of the tail-pieces in the first edition of the Quadrupeds,perhaps affords the best specimen of Bewicks peculiar talent of depict-ing such subjects; he faithfully represents Nature, and at the sametime conveys a moral, which gives additional interest to the the ass remains immoveable, in spite of the application of * This work is noticed at page 407. EEVIVAL OF WOOD ENGEAVING. 485 a branch of furze to his hind quarters, the young graceless who ismounted evidently enjoys his seat. The pleasure of the twain con-. sists as much in having caught an ass as in the prospect of a rideTo such characters the stubborn ass frequently affords more amusementthan a willing goer ; they like to flog and thump a thing well, thoughit be but a gate-post. The gallows in the distance—a favourite interrorem object with Bewick—suggests their ultimate destiny ; andthe cut, in the first edition, derives additional point from its situationamong the animals found in New South Wales,—the first shipment ofconvicts to Botany Bay having taken place about two years previousto the publication of the work. This cut, as well as many others inthe book, affords an instance of lowering,—the light appearance of thedistance is entirely effected by that process. The subsequent editions of the Quadrupeds were enlarged by theaddition of new matter and the insertion of several new cuts. Ofthese, with the exception of the Kyloe Ox,* the tail-pieces are by farthe best. Th
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectwoodengraving, bookye
